Loosely based off anne with an e
It's not easy being an orphan.
Then again, she's never really known anything else. Her parents died when she was just a little baby.
Scarlet fever. The nuns would answer when she asked about how they had died. You're lucky that you didn't die with them.
The only thing she has of her mother's is a small necklace with a simple heart locket on it. It has a grainy black and white portrait of her mother in it, and she thinks that this woman was the most beautiful woman in the world. She can see the similarities between them, the strong jawline, the dark hair and eyes, but Rachel thinks that her mom was much more beautiful.
She had spent thirteen long years at the orphanage, until one day she was notified that a family would be adopting her. Needless to say, she was more than happy to leave.
She's starting to get a little nervous, because she has been sitting on the hard bench outside of the train station for about an hour now. There were no signs of anyone there to pick her up.
Suddenly, a man with brown curly hair came hurrying up in his horse-drawn buggy. Rachel studied him closely, wondering if this was the man who was going to be her new guardian. He looked nice enough, she supposed, with his simple yet clean clothes. He also looked quite young, young enough to be having his own kids, not adopting orphans.
"Hello," he said kindly as he approached her. "Are you sent from the orphanage by any chance?"
She smiled brightly as she stood up, shaking his hand vigorously. "Yes, sir, that would be me! My name is Rachel Barbara Berry. I know Berry is an odd last name to have, but I really do like it. I like all sorts of fruits that have the word 'berry' in them. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries… They're so delicious, wouldn't you agree?"
The man laughed as he led her to the buggy and helped her onto it before joining her. "I do agree. Back home, we have lots of fruit."
"Oh!" she responded excitedly. "Where is home?"
"A little outside Lima, Ohio. It's about ten minutes from here. When we get home, Emma has some supper waiting for you."
"That sounds great." Rachel said sincerely. "Is Emma your wife?"
"Yes, she is." He replied with a proud smile. "My name is William Shuester, by the way. You can just call me Will if you'd like."
"Alright, Will. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm thirteen years old. I don't really know when my birthday is exactly, but at the orphanage we always celebrated it on December 18. I love to sing and dance and have adventures. The nuns at the orphanage always said I talked too much but really I just have a lot of important opinions."
"Well, you certainly do talk a lot." Will chuckled. "You know, we have a neighbor girl who is the same age as you. Her name is Lucy Fabray, but everyone calls her Quinn."
"That's marvelous!" Rachel said with pure excitement starting to set in. "Oh, will I be able to attend school? I've always wanted to."
"Yes, there's a school in town that you'll be attending on Monday."
"Great! I'm sure I'll make lots of new friends there. Lima will be home in no time at all." She sighed as she looked at all the scenery surrounding them. "What beautiful trees! Pink is my favorite color."
